


The Lights Are Shining

by katayla



Category: Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)
Genre: F/M, Missing Scene, Yuletide Treat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-24
Updated: 2018-12-24
Packaged: 2019-09-26 15:27:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17144309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katayla/pseuds/katayla
Summary: Lucille and Lon meet.





	The Lights Are Shining

**Author's Note:**

  * For [empressearwig](https://archiveofourown.org/users/empressearwig/gifts).



Lucille Ballard wasn't so popular as her cousins in St. Louis imagined. There was always another girl who was prettier than her, who was better at flattering boys, who wore more fashionable clothes. Lucille had never been bothered by this. She didn't need a million boys on a string, she only wanted one.

She didn't have a particular boy in mind, but she examined each one of her classmates and her father's students carefully. The cute boys, the shy boys, the smart ones, the rich ones . . . the ones who ignored her and the ones who flirted with her. She liked them all, but couldn't say she'd ever had a crush.

And then her father brought home Alonzo Smith, Jr.

"Lon is one of my brightest students and he's from St. Louis! Practically family," her father said. He was always bringing students home for dinner, particularly those far from home.

"Practically family," Lucille repeated, as her father introduced her.

Lon smiled at her as they shook hands. "A distant cousin, perhaps. Not too closely related."

And Lucille, who had been holding her own with her father's students since she was 14 years old, couldn't meet his eyes.

+

"Why don't you walk Lon to the door?" Lucille's mother asked, which is how Lucille knew she approved of him. If she didn't like someone, she would leave them in Father's hands, which meant the students would be forced to think of a polite way to end the conversation or risk missing curfew.

"It was very, very nice to meet you," Lucille said, as Lon reached for his hat.

"The pleasure was all mine," Lon said "Say--"

"Yes?" Lucille asked, taking a step closer to him.

"You wouldn't want to meet me for some ice cream sometime, would you?"

Lucille smiled. "I would love that."

Lon's grin spread slowly across his face and he held out his hand to Lucille. His hand was warm and a little rough and Lucille never wanted to let go.

+

Lucille had met other boys for ice cream, but Lon was the first boy she'd met a second time. She was an only child and fascinated by his stories about his sisters. She could listen to him talk for hours and soon found herself doing exactly that, as the leaves turned and the days grew shorter. 

"Say," Lon said, one Saturday afternoon, when their ice cream dishes were empty and the shop owner was giving them pointed looks. "You wouldn't want to go to the Halloween dance, would you?"

"Of course I would," Lucille said.

+

It was her first college dance, but Lucille felt at home as she and Lon walked through the door of the college dance hall. She'd grown up running around campus and she recognized many of her father's students. Several of them smiled at her, causing Lon to frown.

"Give me your dance card," he said.

"Lon! We just got here." But she handed it to him and looked over his shoulder as he wrote his name for the first and last dance. He glanced up at her and wrote his name down for one in the middle, and then hesitated.

"Say--" he said.

"One more, Lon," she said. He smiled at her and wrote his name down a fourth time.

Lucille assumed she had Lon's sisters to thank for him being such an excellent dancer. Her other partners that night held her too closely or stepped on her toes, but Lon was a perfect dream. She found herself looking for him on the dance floor throughout the evening, without really meaning to. He took her in to dinner and sat close to her, making sure her plate was full of all her favorites, as he told her stories of doll funerals and overheard telephone calls.

"You make me regret not having siblings," she said.

"I think you didn't understand the stories," Lon said.

"Lon!" But she could feel his love for his family in his teasing tone.

"And let me tell you about my grandfather . . . ."

The rest of the night slipped away in a blur of happiness. Lucille spent the last dance floating in Lon's arms. When the music died down, it took them a moment to break apart, and, once they did, Lon held her hands in his.

"It was an awfully good night," he said, and she smiled at him in agreement.

+

November slipped by all too quickly and then it was December and the last day of fall term and Lon had a train back to St. Louis that night. Lucille met him at his dormitory and they'd spent the afternoon walking around campus together. It started growing dark and Lon offered to walk her home, their steps slowing as they approached her street, her yard, and then her front porch.

"I suppose this is goodbye" Lucille said, holding out her hand to Lon.

Lon wrapped his fingers around hers. She could feel the warmth of his hand through their gloves. 

"You're still coming to St. Louis, aren't you?" Lon asked.

"My cousins invite me every year," Lucille said. "It was time for a visit."

"So I'll see you there," Lon said, his hand closing more firmly around hers. He leaned towards her. "I'll meet you in St. Louis."

"Oh Lon," she said. He'd been humming the song ever since she'd told him she was spending the Christmas holidays with her cousins.

"You have to know the song," he said. "If you don't want my sisters to run you out of town."

She smiled up at him. "Good night, Lon."

"Good night."

He squeezed her hand one last time, tipped his hat at her, and strode off down the street. She watched him all the way to the corner, where he turned and gave her one last wave.

She sighed happily and walked inside. She was in her bedroom before she realized she was humming the song to herself. And so what if she was? Lon was on his way there and soon enough, she would be there, too.

It was sure to be a Christmas to remember.


End file.
